


fire!fic

by kitkatbyte



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Fanfiction, Fire, M/M, Matter of Life and Death, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 09:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16323395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatbyte/pseuds/kitkatbyte
Summary: There is a fire at the loft and Justin is asleep inside!Oh no!





	1. The fic I accidentally wrote...

**Author's Note:**

> Back in 2004 bea_nonymous wrote an _evil, sad fic_ entitled "No Need", in which there is a fire at the loft, Brian runs in to save Justin, and they both _die_. This fic has been lost to the sand of time, but obviously sent shockwaves through my heart, because, well, here we are.  
>  Anyway, back then I was commenting on it when I pointed out that the thing I liked most about the fic was when Brian ran into the building to save Justin... it was stupid of him to do, but he risked his life to save Justin, and that was sweet.
> 
> Then for some reason I wrote, "I'm going to pretend that the story goes something more like this:" and started typing. I guess I felt really strongly about the whole Brian-saves-Justin thing, because it ended up kind of long...
> 
> So here it is, the first QaF fic I ever wrote.
> 
> Sorry we don't have more of the fic that leads up to it, but I think basically Brian just got home and saw that the loft was on fire, and he knew Justin was asleep inside. Justin might have taken sleeping pills. I can't really remember, but let's assume he did!

This part in italics was written by bea_nonymous:  
_In the span of a minute, two officers had been knocked to the ground and a firefighter lost a couple of front teeth as Brian had broken through the orange tape barricade and launched himself full force into the inferno._

As he ran up the stairs, he was overwhelmed by the thick smoke in the air, so he crouched down as far as he could to try and get under it. The wall to his left was on fire, so he stayed against the right wall. The fire was still so close, though, and it felt like it was slowly roasting his skin.

Brian finally made it up to the top of the stairs, only to be met by a blast of fire when the wall on the right ended, from the other side of the elevator. He jumped back as fast as he could, but he was sure that some of his hair had been singed off.

Brian braced himself with his had against the wall, and after a couple of seconds, he leapt to the door of the loft and grabbed the handle...

...and yelped as his hand pulled reflexively back from the hot metal. 

"Shit!"

He pulled off his shirt and used it to try the handle again. Yes! The door pulled open. Brian fell to the floor and coughed into his shirt as smoke flooded out of the room.

After he was able to somewhat regain his breath, Brian started calling out Justin's name. From what the lady outside had said, Justin had probably been sleeping in bed when the fire started. 

Brian couldn't see anything. The smoke was so thick that he got on down on his hands and knees as low to the floor as he could manage. He could hardly breathe, and the coughing never stopped as he gasped for air. Although it was dark and he couldn't see anything, he knew his way to the bedroom.

When his face ran into the side of the bed, Brian frantically reached up to the top of it, searching for a hand, a foot, anything. When he finally pulled himself partway onto the bed, he felt it.

Hair. Justin's hair. 

"Justin!" Brian tried, but all that came out was a extra fit of coughing. No time to waste, Brian grabbed at Justin's leg and pulled him to the edge of the bed, and then started dragging him across the loft, back to the door. He was feeling weak and extremely dizzy, but this was no time to pass out.

Brian got back to the stairs and looked down. All he could see between the smoke was a bright orange glow, and it felt like his entire body was baking.

The fire had spread. Half of the stairs were on fire.

Gathering Justin up as best he could, he started running down the stairs. He tried not to inhale at all, as he knew it would only be smoke. He came to what looked like a solid wall of fire in the middle of the staircase, and he closed his eyes and jumped through it.

The pain of the burn was intense, and when he landed on the stairs past the fire, he fell down them face-first. He looked back to find where he had dropped Justin, but now not only was the smoke making it impossible to see, but his eyes were watering and burning and all he saw was a blur of orange and black.

Brian got to his hands and knees, and winced in pain. He had broken a couple of ribs. Face to the floor, hoping for a little air, he groped around for Justin. He found him after a few seconds at the bottom of the stairs.

Brian would have worried that Justin had hit his head, the worst thing Brian could conceive, but he was too busy reaching madly for the door. As he opened it, he grabbed Justin in his arms to pull him outside.

Brian lost consciousness just as the fresh air was about to hit him.


	2. which I wrote on purpose.

When Brian woke up, he immediately noticed three things: one, that there was an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth; two, that he was on a stretcher; and three...

Brian shifted slightly and groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs and a dry stinging sensation on patches of the skin of his upper body. It took a moment for his mind to clear enough so that he could register the memory of what had happened to him.

Oh god.

He turned his head to the side frantically, searching. There was a blur of flashing lights, paramedics, other people... ambulances. Another stretcher. Brian squinted at the sight, until he recognized the blonde head of hair being lifted into the ambulance twenty feet away.

Justin. 

Brian exhaled as he closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt a jerk, and looked up to see a face above him.

"It's okay. Just lie still. You're going to the hospital."

***

Brian sat silently as Michael pushed his wheelchair into the room. The scene was a bit too familiar. Although asleep, Justin looked far less than peaceful. Two years ago, Brian had watched through a window, but he knew better now. He picked up Justin's hand and held it in his own. A layer of glass could do nothing to shield him from this aching in his chest.

Brian reached over with his other hand and stroked down along the hairline of Justin's face. No head injury, thank god... just smoke inhalation. A lot of smoke inhalation. Brian learned while being treated for his injuries that when he had pulled Justin out of the apartment building, Justin was not breathing. The paramedics had to perform CPR, and were barely lucky enough to revive him.

Brian idly noticed that Michael had slipped out of the room, leaving them alone. He cleared his voice, raw as it still was, and whispered almost inaudibly.

"Come on, sunshine..."

***  
Brian opened his eyes as he felt a gentle pressure on his hand. He must have fallen asleep. He looked up to see two sleepy eyes gazing at him worriedly. He squeezed back and smiled reassuringly as he ran his hand through the boy's golden locks.

Later the questions would follow. Justin would want to know what happened, why they were in a hospital... why breathing felt strange, and why Brian looked so tattered. But in this moment, only one thing mattered. 

This time when Justin woke up, Brian was there... and neither one of them was going anywhere.


End file.
